2006 Prius!Package#3 In Ct.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stanlwyjohn @ May 21 2006, 03:55 PM) [snapback]258897[/snapback]</div>

Hello Neighbor ,

I ordered my current Prius last year at very end of April and took delivery on September 10. Since the waitlists were much longer at the time (I was quoted anywhere between 3 to 8 months), I multi-listed with 3 dealerships that all were charging MSRP (2 with fully-refundable deposits one $500 and one $300 and one with no deposit) and simply went with the one that first came in, which happened to be Stephen's AutoMall in Bristol. At the time, Lorensen was charging a premium over list price, so, they were immediately dropped from consideration, as were Girard Toyota in New London, Charles Toyota in Norwich and Toyota of Wallingford. Although Hartford Toyota was charging only MSRP, they insisted on a non-refundable deposit, so they were also dropped from consideration.

Since I'm buying again (see siggy), I did happen to call Lorensen and discovered that they are no longer charging premiums, but just flat MSRP. I've also contacted Stephen's again and also Toyota of Colchester so far, both charging only MSRP. The 1-2 months that Lorensen is quoting you appears to be a common waittime for Connecticut at this point. Since I've already got one, I'm not in a grand rush, as long as I take delivery prior to September 30 in order to take full advantage of the federal tax credit.

Lucky you too for living in CT where we don't have to pay sales tax on new hybrids!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stanlwyjohn @ Jun 2 2006, 05:00 PM) [snapback]264839[/snapback]</div>

Like most of the Toyota dealers around here, Lorensen is a small dealer. For high volume, you have to go to a fleet dealer like Stephens AutoMall. They do all over-estimate the time that it will take to cover themselves some and the variablity of what the Toyota region sends them. I did get a full month's notice that my exact spec was coming in last year, that it had just been made and was on the ship.

The sales tax exemption here in CT is sweet and I'm taking full advantage again by buying a 2006. That's a cool $1,500 savings on a $25,000 car! Combine that with $3,150 federal tax credit and what you save on gas. My gas savings alone is paying half the car payment. Woohoo!

If you have time, you have much more control over what you get. I passed up a Silver #6 2 months before I got mine and have never regretted waiting a little longer to get exactly what I wanted. Also, you still might consider multi-listing at dealerships that do fully refundable deposits. I even told each dealer that I multi-listed with that I was doing that, so they knew they had competition on getting me mine as soon as possible. The practice does help to over-inflate the dealer's waitlists so, again, whatever they are quoting may be longer just to cover these variables and it will be shorter as people drop off the list.

I even have the car serviced at one of the dealers I multi-listed with, but got the car from a different dealer. They were perfectly fine about it and now they've getting a second chance on getting me my 2006.

Here's hoping you get exactly the one you want!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stanlwyjohn @ Jun 5 2006, 06:19 PM) [snapback]266271[/snapback]</div>

Well, 3 weeks lost is better than three months lost. What did Middletown ask for a deposit? It's refundable too, I hope. I did stop by there early in the game last year but they wanted a $1000 refundable. Since I was able to put down a couple deposits at $300 each and one required no deposit, that's the route I went and didn't happen to go back to Middletown, but they were certainly nice enough. Good luck!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stanlwyjohn @ Jun 6 2006, 05:10 AM) [snapback]266559[/snapback]</div>

Ah, so the 3 weeks "lost" wasn't for nothing afterall!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stanlwyjohn @ Jun 16 2006, 09:13 PM) [snapback]272505[/snapback]</div>

Wow! Congratulations Stan! And a #7!!! You're gonna love the navigation! I wouldn't worry too much about the $700 in extras. Perhaps the window thing is where they micro-etch the VIN number into each window, which isn't such a bad thing. Not sure I'd want racing stripe decals, but I'm sure they could always be removed, but maybe they'll look cool. Nice color too. Much more interesting than the Silver. I would have considered it but ruled it out because of the light color interior.

Wallingford was another that I ruled out last year because they were charging premiums like Lorensen. Glad to see these dealers have wised up some.

So, when do you take delivery?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stanlwyjohn @ Jun 16 2006, 10:39 PM) [snapback]272538[/snapback]</div>

No, nothing yet. I need to call them to check in. Colchester is a particularly small operation, but I like dealing with them and would have liked to get my current one through them. One month into the estimated 3 month wait now. But it's really different from my wait last year since I'm already driving a Prius now. This time last year it was driving me crazy!

 

You can get the Toyota extended warranty through this site for $990. Look near the top of the screen, the big blue bar that says PRIUSCHAT.COM. Look at the smaller blue bar within that and click on Prius Accessories, then Discounted Extended Warranty.

Congratulations on your new Prius from a newbie owner in the Tri-State area - I'm in New Jersey and have a 2006 Super White #5 with lots of accessories.

I got the side moldings and rear bumper protector - had them installed at a local auto body shop for $60 because I'm a klutz - through www.metrotpn.com, got my seats upgraded to leather with Katzkin leather seats - see www.katzkin.com for their options and to search for local installers. (My dealer charged 995, using a 3rd party installer. I just asked for 'gray' and am happy with it, but if I'd known there were so many color choices, I might have asked for two toned gray - there are at least 10 shades of gray to choose from!) I got a 'sunshade' for my MFD (cuts down on glare) from www.priushoods.com. And just got the Weathertech window deflectors (they keep rain from dripping into your Prius if you like to drive with the windows partly open or if you need to open the window to pay a toll, etc.) through www.sigmaautomotive.com - I got the dark ones and installed the front window ones last night. Oh - almost forgot - also got the Toyota all weather mats through Metrotpn - but I haven't even opened the box yet because it's summer, not winter. All 3 of the internet stores I used shipped very quickly. In fact, I had my mouldings earlier than I anticipated, because Metrotpn custom paints the mouldings in Toyota paint colors, so they say it might take them 3-4 days to ship them. I guess they just happened to have Super White in stock, because I got them and all the other things I ordered from them (saved on overall shipping charges that way) in 2 days.

The moldings and rear bumper protector are "must haves' - prevents door dings in parking lots and protects the rear bumper when you need to rest packages on them while you open or close the rear hatch. And the window deflectors are a 'must' for me - I love to keep the windows partly opened, and my old car was a convertible and dripped all over my left thigh when there was rain, and something like these deflectors wasn't available.

Have fun! I love my Prius, which is why I keep buying little 'treats' for her!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stanlwyjohn @ Jun 18 2006, 07:19 AM) [snapback]272995[/snapback]</div>

Yeah Stan! Welcome to the club!

I never bother with extended warranties either. And if you ever do decide you want one, there's absolutely no need to buy one immediately. You can wait as long as you are still within the 3 year/36,000 mile maunfacturer's warranty.

Looking forward to seeing the pictures. Take your time getting used to all the Nav screens and other features of the car. Enjoy some of those little "corrections" and improvements in the systems over the 2005 that I'm still looking forward to getting myself like the higher resolution MFD, manual entry of telephone book (especially if you have Verizon like I do which makes upload virtually impossible), voice dial while driving and voice entry of destination address.

I really don't think you are going to regret having stepped up to the Nav system. I consider a serious efficiency feature of the car itself. When setting a destination and you are not in a rush to get there, use the "Short" route option. I've discovered some beautiful roads in the area that I've never been on before even having lived in the area all my life. In addition to finding the shortest mileage route, you will be using mostly secondary roads and therefore traveling slower which will increase your fuel economy.

Consider getting some of the available mod kits from www.coastaletech.com. Just last week I placed an order in anticipation of getting my new 2006: mudflaps, EV mode, auto door locks and power outlet modification. They have a reputation for being slow and that's why I ordered now, but I've already received the package of goodies. I have all of these on the 2005 and I would miss them on the new one. Also have the Nav/Bluetooth override, but that is not available on the 2006, but I'm hoping that the voice dial and voice destination address entry features will largely make up for that.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stanlwyjohn @ Jun 22 2006, 09:21 PM) [snapback]275563[/snapback]</div>

Woohoo! Stan's got pix. That's one beautiful car if I do say so myself! The stripes came out well, a nice, subtle touch.

Okay, I've got that license plate number memorized. :lol:

Actually, I saw a 2006 Driftwood the other morning (don't recall the plate number) just after 9 AM, Tuesday I think, turning into the county extension center right in front of me going northbound. I've been meaning to mention that to you. Could it have been an early Stanmobile sighting? B)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stanlwyjohn @ Jun 22 2006, 09:46 PM) [snapback]275576[/snapback]</div>

Possible, but I think I drove out of town and across the bridge shortly before noon.